Soda-ash process.



i 'o Drawing. i

To al'l' rlmm Mn 11 (io'hcc-r n':

Twit lmown that I, Julia-s citizen of, the United States. residing at El laso. in the countyof El Paso and State of 'loaas. hareimeuted certain new and useful Tunn-m'eihcnts in- Soda-Ash Processes, of which the following: is a specification.

This invention relates to asoda-ash procss'anil product and its object is to prm'lucc soda ash (Na co l at low cost.

in (uniting out ny new process, I take appro'xiimitcly anhydrlns sodii'un-sulfatc (Na. .SO,') and mix" it withahou't one-half its weight of saw-(lust. either wet or dry,

and-change the hot end (near the (ire bridge) of a revelflicratory' tank-furnace, prcfcral-ily ;cont-ix'ino'hsly,with the mi.\'ture. Under the furnace heat, the. sodium sulfate melts at a temperature of 830 and innnediately he f'gius to he reduced by destructive distillation of. the-sawdust to sodinin-sulfiihin Consci:

qucuCc of: the combined action'of volatile,

lthc extremely porous charcoalfintrr which the saw dust is converted by the dcstructive distillation offit;

The soiliui'u sulfi'd produced, v fuses at a temperature of about (300 C.,' andf'in c'onsev qucucc the hath o'f sodi'uursu'lfid is' extrcm'el y mobile-,3 liai'ing .a fcons'istcncyahoii t that of milk. In this freely fluid. state" it can' he readily tap 'ied' fronrth Turn "to tank. This freely-flowing smlinnvsulfid pioductof the 40' there protects the bath from'oicidi'zing acfurnace is partially protc'ct edfl from oxidationby the flame;

An advantage ofiusing the saw-dust is that the hydrocarbons released in the de- 'structiye distill'a tion of the saw-dust ellect a very rapid reduction ofigthe sodium sulfate to sodium sulfid' and produce most of the sootwhich protects" the molten sulfid from oxidation. The importance of protecting the molten sulfid from oxidation is that if' it be not so protected when tapped out in its liquid form from the furnace,'it will burst spontaneously into flame and thcreh will revert, or-will tend to revert, back into sodium sulfate.

The sew-dust floating on the bath c0nsti Specification of Lctters' Piitent.

Application med-rebmai l 1, 1913, Serial No. 741,606;

JIULES HECTOR mm. or 13L PAso; TEXAS.

"SODA-[ASH PRocEss.

tutcs a covering of more or less' depth, and

which is exposed directly to the. rcvcrherator \'-furnacc flame and heat. The temperature of the hath is necessarily higli cr than the tcunja-ratnre of thesmr-(lusto and the hath hoik np through the saw-(lustcm'orin'g macanae 1; :llinrfi StIHCtiYC distillation. so that tlieo'xiclation resisting soot is well distrih'uted th h themolten 'sullhl. As .'-ta\'\-'dust c mtains nly ahont. one-third of runper-cent. of, ash; its. use results an a-pu-izr prodncttlian would lac uhtainwl if coal or coke; which contains ahout ten per cent. of ash. werc nscd'in lieu of the Sil\\'-d\l$t. i i

The sodium snllirl may: he used imlne-- w (liatcivand continuously in the production of soda ash.

l n making soda ashlNa co l theifreely i furnace directly. while at.thetemperature of its molten state into wet saw-dust in which its temperature is so reduced that it state. This granulated sodium sulfid, fwith with raw limestone (CaCO in aboxut'fth e lin'lcsldne to one part of sodium su OllO-ffllil'fll part of saw-dust present; and

the uliXi'lll'c isthen. charged in to ,.a vertical cxtcrually-heatc l lciln from thebottom? of which crude soda ash is \x',ithdrn\\"n for sub sequent unification in a known manner. tion in air by the sootrw'hich is dl'ssennnated quiredto effect the requisite chemical reac: hon for ohtailungthe Soda. ash, 0pela;tes

I cent. in xe-5 of "the actual;quantity-;. re- 7' to prevent the kiln charge -from stick ng to furnace parts in large hot masses, as in the l'mhlanc procc and consequently diminishes much of the expensive procedure of that process. The carbonating ofthe sodium; snllid into sodium carbonate involves-an oxol-lusrmic chemical reaction, and consequently .proceedsnitli rapidity at about arcd heat, which is of substantial economical importaru'c. This ekothermic reaction is in state; granulating it in wet saw-dust; mixing' it and Wet saw-dust with raw limestone in excess and in subjecting the mixture of granulated sodium sulfid, Wet saw-dust, and

raw limestone to heat which effects reaction of the constituents of'said mixture rapidly and at about red heat.

2. The process of making soda ash, consistingin subjecting a mixture of sodium sulfid, wet sawdust, and raw limestone to heat suilicient to effect reaction of the constituents rapidly at about red heat.

3. The process of making soda ash, consisting in flowing hot sodium sulfid into mix ture withmoist saw-dust- :rnd raw limestone in excess, and in heating the mixture to about red heat to effect chemical reaction.

4. In the process of nmking soda ash, the step'Consisting in flowing hot sodium sulfi'l into moist saw-(lust 'to reduce the tempera-- ture of the sulfid below its spontaneousignition point.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

J ULES HECTOR HIRT.

Witnesses:

' G BLAKE,

EnwARo BLACK. 

